I agree with @Cue7 about it being less stressful for students, not more. The changes actually make the schedule quite similar to Dartmouth’s (other than U. Chicago students have a block of time available in September, and Dartmouth students have it in December). My older son is at Dartmouth, doing very well, but he doesn’t seem to be particularly stressed by the schedule. Dartmouth students typically take 3 classes per term (or occasionally 4, but that’s really not the norm), and it’s very doable.